2020: Our Year In Review
December 17, 2020
For most people around the world, 2020 has meant complete upheaval, stress, sickness, and death. I think of my brother who works at Whole Foods and is unable to work from home, my cousin who is an airline pilot in an industry among those hit the hardest, and my sister who quit her boutique business to homeschool her four kids. We missed graduations, weddings, and precious time with family and friends. Still, most of the people in my life will be okay. We have roofs over our heads and food to feed our families. Sadly, the same cannot be said for over 300,000 who have died from COVID-related causes and the many more sick, broke, and hopeless. My heart breaks for all those hurting around the world.
2020 has been brutal.
In fairness, nothing I have experienced this year could be considered hardship by most standards. As an academic able to work from home, I did not lose my job or benefits. Since my wife and I bought a house in 2018 and had a son (Aden) in 2019, we were able to spend most of 2020 together at home with our cat and dog. 2020 even gave us another little human on the way. At home, Khai and I played hundreds of games of Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Dominion (the vast majority of which Khai won according to my detailed records). We watched the Great British Baking Show, See, and nearly every horror movie on Netflix. We tackled several big home projects and I read many good books.
Given the impossibility of international travel this year, it worked out perfectly that we spent time in Thailand with Khai’s family in mid-January after leading a Wintersession study abroad trip in Chiang Mai. Back in Baton Rouge, Khai and I decided early on that we would play it safe and wouldn’t risk close contact with others. FaceTime, Zoom, and Line allowed us to keep in touch with family and friends all over the world. At various times throughout the week, we felt transported to Chiang Rai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Riyadh, Pittsburgh, Trenton, Boothbay Harbor, Boston, Memphis, Spokane, and Washington, DC.
Since I was already pretty savvy with instructional technology/online teaching, it was a fairly smooth transition to take my work online. We turned our back room (previously the dog’s room) into an office with a desk and bookshelves from Facebook Marketplace. Working from home allowed me to support Khai and Aden more than usual. Many days Aden would play at my feet and make guest appearances in my online meetings. I could easily hop up from my desk to change diapers or play. While I worked from home during the week, I slipped away to campus on Sundays at 6:00 AM for marathon writing sessions. I’m so grateful to Khai for those writing days. I’ve learned to make sure I cook and clean on Saturdays, so Khai can focus on Aden when I’m gone. In terms of academic productivity, this year has by far been the best thanks to those Sunday sessions and my virtual writing group.
Thanksgiving was just the three of us. Christmas will also be just the three of us. I am sad Aden hasn’t been able to spend more time with his extended family. He lights up if we see another kid at Costco, which also makes me sad that he hasn’t been able to play with other children. But I know he’ll be okay. He’s among the luckiest. While he won’t remember 2020, our pictures, videos, and writing will show him that 2020 was nothing but pure family joy. In what strange world are both parents home all day, able to sing to their kid before every nap, read Thai and English books every night, eat almost every meal together, and go on walks together most days? Whether blessed by a higher power, privileged, lucky, or a combination, 2020 has not broken us.
Onward.
Oliver S. Crocco 
Good update. Love staying current with your little family, and looking forward to a day when we will visit each other and have more adventures.
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